Nuno Espirito Santo has been dismissed from his position at the City Ground, and Ange Postecoglou is poised to succeed him as the manager of Nottingham Forest.
The Australian coach, dismissed from Tottenham Hotspur following his Europa League victory last season, will promptly re-enter the Premier League.
Postecoglou is the preferred candidate of owner Evangelos Marinakis to take charge of the East Midlands club.
Postecoglou Established Rapport with Marinakis during Ceremony
Marinakis and Postecoglou’s connection was reinforced two months ago, when Nottingham Forest’s owner attended a special awards ceremony during the Greek Super League draw.
Following Tottenham’s victory in Bilbao, the 59-year-old was invited to accept a special award. Marinakis delivered it to him on stage, and the link was forged, giving the shipping magnate an easy go-to after Nuno’s departure.
Marinakis will return to Nottingham Forest this season to continue the club’s domestic and European campaign.
Nuno’s departure marked a disappointing conclusion to a sizzling chapter in the club’s history that came as close to rekindling memories of a brilliant past as any in the last few generations.
The Portuguese, who was softly spoken, quietly motivated, tactile, and prone to the occasional attack of petulance, eventually fell victim to a schism between himself and his master.
However, there are other elements at play here. Behind the scenes, there was a power struggle between two super-agents, led by a sporting director, and a ruthless club owner who wants to push Nottingham Forest to the top tier of English football. And he intends to do it yesterday.
The seeds of discontent had been sown even before former Arsenal star Edu was named global head of football in July. Late last year, the former Arsenal manager was connected with a role at Nottingham Forest. And his entrance on the scene sparked the behind-the-scenes conflict that eventually led to Nuno’s departure.
However, while things on the pitch were improving as the Tricky Trees rose to third place in the Premier League, on the surface, everything appeared to be in order.
The club appeared to be on track to shake up the establishment by finishing in one of the top four spots (UEFA’s coefficient later extended this to the top five), increasing Nottingham Forest’s chances of returning to a competition won twice by the late Brian Clough in back-to-back victories in the early 1980s.
However, after raising expectations to new heights, the Tricky Trees began to fall behind. They had only won one of their last five games, and Marinakis was pushed over the brink following a 2-2 tie with relegated Leicester City.
He stomped angrily onto the pitch to confront Nuno after the final whistle, as the club’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League were eliminated.
Nottingham Forest stated that the incident was centred on striker Taiwo Awoniyi’s injury. The forward’s gut ruptured after colliding with a goalpost, forcing him into an induced coma. The organisation insisted that the owner’s rant was motivated by concerns about player welfare.
However, other commentators, notably Sky’s Gary Neville and Simon Jordan on talkSPORT, were scathing, with the latter accusing Nottingham Forest of’re-writing the narrative’, implying that the owner’s ire stemmed from the loss of two points rather than worry for the striker.
The fall from grace would not have helped Marinakis’ overall mood, as the big money prize of the Champions League slipped from his grasp while he still had one hand on it.
Nuno’s press conference enraged Marinakis.
Nuno, the first client of super-agent Jorge Mendes, had a strained relationship with Edu, the man in charge of Nottingham Forest’s transfer policy.
Kia Joorabchian, another representative with significant authority in the game, influenced events behind the scenes. He gradually gained influence inside the Marinakis circle. With Nuno in the Mendes camp, it was arguably unavoidable that there would be friction when another transfer window opened.
It all came to a head during a press conference prior to the season’s first match. A seemingly benign inquiry from the floor about the manager’s relationship with the owner produced an answer from Nuno that did not imply that all was not well. However, ten-foot-tall neon lights warned that everything was not well.
The relationship between an owner like Marinakis, whose word is the beginning, middle, and end of Nottingham Forest, and his manager is always going to be important. When that is undermined, there is only one outcome: the manager in question, Nuno, will seek alternative job.
Marinakis is a volatile figure – history is replete with examples of his erratic actions – and his approach made for an explosive mix. It was one that would inevitably conflate at any point.
It has backfired on Nuno, and supporters will be deeply saddened by his departure from the east Midlands. It was far from guaranteed that the club would survive when he took over after Steve Cooper’s resignation as Christmas neared 20 months ago.
However, an early victory over Manchester United helped to boost confidence, and Nuno’s ability to bring together the playing and management staff into a cohesive whole was the reason Nottingham Forest scraped through to safety, despite a four-point deduction due to financial issues.
That cohesion was demonstrated last season when Nuno, despite a relatively quiet preseason, was allowed to get to work. With a consistent style and approach to play, results began to pile up, raising expectations to new heights. Those feelings were echoed in the boardroom, not the stands at City Ground.
However, as a season of great promise collapsed, the schisms behind the scenes grew further. Nuno leaves Nottingham Forest having rebuilt his reputation after a difficult period at Tottenham.
With Mendes on his corner, he should have no trouble obtaining future employment. Marinakis may have ultimately triumphed in fight. But it remains to be seen whether he won the fight.
All statistics courtesy of Sofascore – current as of September 9, 2025.
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